[PHOTO
AT LEFT - WATER HYACINTH 'ISLANDS' - A massive deposit of water hyacinths
clogs the Rio Grande de Mindanao River, a sight witnessed by President Aquino
during his aerial inspection of the flood-hit areas of Cotabato City. The
aquatic plants were driven into the river from the Liguasan Marsh by continuous
heavy rains, causing the river to swell and flood low-lying barangays in the
city. Although water hyacinths are considered nuisance, there are many ways they
could be made useful. (MALACAÑANG Photo)]

COTABATO CITY,
JUNE 21, 2011 (MANILA BULLETIN) By ALI G. MACABALANG - Classes have
been stalled in 123 public schools in high-illiteracy rate-laden communities of
Maguindanao due to floods that continue to submerge 21 of the 36 towns in the
province, the Department of Education (DepEd) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM) said Thursday.

Lawyer Baratucal Caudang, DepEd-ARMM secretary, said more than 50 of the
adversely affected schools were abandoned due to high floodwater level while the
rest have been converted to evacuation centers for some of the 77,000 families
displaced in the inundation.

Caudang said he and his survey team personally visited some of the abandoned
school edifices and witnesses elementary pupils holding classes along the roads
in what teachers described as “vital initiatives” to emancipate young residents
from disturbing highly illiteracy rate.

[PHOTO - Rio Grande de Mindanao is the longest river in Mindanao and
the second largest in the Philippines]

Maguindanao, one of the ARMM component provinces, belongs to the country’s
bunch of areas beset with the highest illiteracy rate.

“The situation was awful. We are prompted now to search for alternatives,
including initiatives to source out funds for the repair of buildings and
facilities destroyed by flood,” Caudang said, referring to the idleness of the
affected schools and the pupils’ plight in outdoor classes.

Caudang said they were validating reports from the two Maguindanao schools
superintendents who had tallied 45,152 damaged instructional materials like
books, 37,254 desks and chairs, 1,058 tables, and 1,095 chalkboards, some 30
percent of which were totally wrecked.

Heavy rains caused by a typhoon have swelled Rio Grande de Mindanao and its
waters overflowing in nearby areas because of the menace of water lilies
blocking the river’s current, causing the massive flooding in Central Mindanao.

This prompted President Benigno S. Aquino III to visit Cotabato City to check
on relief operations for flood-ravaged communities in the area, which drew a
mixture of rejoice and dismay from affected residents and officials.

After surveying the devastation from the air, the President visited the water
lilies-clogged Delta Bridge in Cotabato and later presided a briefing of
officials of state agencies including the Presidential Task Force on Mindanao
River Basin Rehabilitation and Development (PTFMRBRD), where both short and
long-term solutions on the “cycle of flooding” were presented.

Villar offers water lily expertise

With the current water lily problem in Cotabato City, the Villar Foundation
expressed willingness to help the city and other areas in the country which are
plagued by the said free floating nuisance that damages the natural water
system.

Former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar, managing director of Villar Foundation,
revealed that the foundation is ready to extend its help to Cotabato City.

“We are willing to help Cotabato City by training them how to use water
hyacinth as a means for them to earn a living,” she said in a phone interview.

Recently, the Villar Foundation championed its project on saving the Las
Piñas-Zapote Rivers which bagged the United Nations award for Best Water
Management Practices. The project involved weaving masses of water hyacinth that
were harvested along the said river into baskets and bags.

Villar disclosed that the said project not only helped clean the river but
created a livelihood for the people of Las Piñas. “The project was able to
enjoin people in saving the river and at the same time earn for themselves,” she
said.

Villar bared that the problem of water hyacinth mass is common to most areas
around the country. She said that she agreed to help Cotabato City provided that
the local government is also willing to learn. “We are now just waiting for them
to call us so we can immediately send our trainor to teach them ways on saving
their river as well,” Villar said.

She said that the foundation has already shared their experiences with other
areas including Pasig City, Taguig City, Muntinlupa City, and Malabon in Metro
Manila, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bulacan, and even in South Cotabato.

Meanwhile, Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, PTFMRBRD chairman, pressed
for the speedy completion of efforts on a stalled cut-off channel to divert the
influx aquatic plants and water from the heavily silted Pulangi (Rio Grande de
Mindanao) and Tamontaka Rivers.

But the President said his technical people will have to review first the
proposed remedies since some of the built-in features appeared not convincing to
him.

He said the government would study long-term plans to control the growth of
water lilies, aside from just removing them from the river.

He said the aquatic plants may also be harvested on a commercial scale and
turned into fiber or bio-fuel through the establishment of a processing plant in
the Liguasan Marsh where they are growing and later cascading down to Cotabato
City during rainy days.

President Aquino said he would ask the interior and science departments to
make feasibility studies on the possible use of water lilies as alternative
energy source.

But Cotabato City Mayor Japal Guiani Jr. complained that the President’s
visit was “very short” and the relief goods distributed ceremonially in one of
the evacuation centers in the affected areas were “borrowed” from the local
governance.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu also lamented that the President
came and left with no definite assistance to end the perennial flooding in his
province and Cotabato.

The governor earlier insisted at the Presidential briefing that more heady
equipment should be brought in to dredge rivers and marshes in his province, but
President Aquino replied that efforts and funds for dredging activities were
hardly accounted for.

As this developed, 11 areas in Luzon were placed under Signal No. 1 as
tropical storm “Falcon” (international name: Meari) intensified and moved at a
slower pace over the Philippine Sea Thursday afternoon, the Philippine
Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

Paciente said the storm’s slower pace can be attributed to its interaction
with a low pressure area (LPA) located at 550 km northeast of Virac, Catanduanes.

Although the new weather disturbance is not likely to develop into a tropical
depression, Robert Sawi, PAGASA’s acting weather division chief, explained that
there is a high possibility that “Falcon” and the LPA will merge.

“The weather disturbance will continue to enhance southwest monsoon bringing
occasional rains over Luzon and Visayas starting on Thursday. Moderate to heavy
rains will prevail over Eastern Visayas, Bicol Region, and the western section
of Luzon and Visayas,” he added.

Sawi said Metro Manila will experience heavy rains this weekend due to the
southwest monsoon or hanging habagat.

The weather disturbance is expected to be 270 km east-northeast of Aparri,
Cagayan this afternoon, 320 km north-northeast of Basco, Batanes Saturday
afternoon, and 740 km north-northeast of Basco, Batanes or 140 km northwest of
Okinawa, Japan on Sunday afternoon.

It is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility Sunday morning
and will move toward Japan.

Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman said DSWD has
pre-positioned P276,707 worth of standby funds and P29.51 million worth of
relief goods in all DSWD field offices along the typhoon path.

Flights cancelled

More than a thousand domestic passengers were stranded at the domestic
terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after some 36
domestic flights were canceled due to tropical storm “Falcon.”

Connie Bungag, chief of the Media Affairs Division of NAIA, said canceled
were 28 Cebu Pacific flights bound for Legaspi, Naga, Surigao, Caticlan,
Catarman, Tuguegarao as well as six AirPhilippines flights bound for Legaspi and
Naga and its turn around aircraft and two Philippine Airlines flights to Bicol
Region.

Bungag noted that international flights at three passenger terminals remain
normal.

Meanwhile, more than 200 passengers are currently stranded in various
passenger port terminals in areas affected by “Falcon,” the Philippine Coast
Guard (PCG) reported.

Lieutenant Commander Algier Ricafrente, PCG Public Affairs chief, said that
as of 12:30 p.m. Thursday, a total of 213 passengers were stranded in two major
ports in the Bicol Region – 203 at the Tabaco Port Terminal, while 10 persons at
the Pio Duran Port, both in Albay, since the province is under Signal No. 1.

The PCG spokesman added that rescue units were already deployed in the areas
affected by the said weather disturbance, adding that they are ready to render
immediate assistance for those affected residents. (With
reports from Sarah Hilomen Velasco, Edd K. Usman, John Carlo M. Cahinhinan,
Aaron B. Recuenco, Genalyn D. Kabiling, Ellalyn B. de Vera, and PNA)

MANILA,
Philippines – The 20-hectare spread of water hyacinths that invaded the Rio
Grande de Mindanao---and was blamed for compounding the effects of heavy rains
in flooded Cotabato City—would not have turned into a menace if local officials
and communities had not been as neglectful, a government biologist and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) spokesman said on Thursday.

Rose Cabrera, a biologist from the Laguna Lake Development Authority, said
that water hyacinths could not have proliferated in the area and clogged
waterways had the LGUs and the communities taken preventive actions to stop the
spread of the aquatic plant.

“Sa tingin ko, isang problema itong pinalala nila bago sinolusyunan [I think
this is a problem that they made worse before it was solved],” Cabrera told
InterAksyon.com in a phone interview on Thursday.

According to Cabrera, while water hyacinths grow fast, doubling in five to 15
days, the LGUs and the communities shouldn’t have waited for the plant to
mature, spread and cover 20 hectares of the Mindanao River with tangled weeds,
and block waterways before they acted on the problem.

“The plants grow rapidly but not overnight. P’wede namang tanggalin agad,
kung nakita nilang nagsisismula na itong tumubo. Bakit pa hihintaying lumaki ng
sobra…Baka pinapanood lang, hanggang umabot na ng 20 hectares [They could have
plucked out the plants early on if they saw that these had started growing. Why
wait for the pants to mature…Perhaps they were just watching until the plant
covered 20 hectares of the river],” she said.

Hyacinths helpful when small

Water hyacinths only start to become a menace when the plants start to occupy
a large portion of a body of water, according to Cabrera. She said the plants
serve as breeding grounds for fingerlings. But when these grow unabated, the
plants cause floods because they clog up rivers.

Also, Caberara said water hyacinths can cause fishkills. “The plants compete
with the oxygen needed by fish and other aquatic animals to survive.”

Meanwhile, MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu said the proliferation of water
hyacinths in the area “has been a continuing problem.” He said the area
encountered the same problem in 2008. “At that time, the MILF sent about three
thousand people to help solve the problem immediately.”

He said one of the causes of the problem in the Rio Grande could be the
infrastructure development on Delta Bridge where many posts had been built.

“Maraming posteng itinayo doon na siyang maaring pumipigil sa pagdaan ng
water hyacinths [Many posts were constructed there. These could be blocking the
flow of the water hyacinths],” Kabalu told InterAksyon in a separate phone
interview on Thursday.

Kabalu added the heavily silted river could have also blocked the passage of
the plants to the sea. “Masyado nang mababaw ang Rio Grande dahil sa siltation
[The Rio Grande has become shallow due to siltation]. The water hyacinths could
no longer flow smoothly.”

Needlessly politicized problem

The problem in Cotabato City has become politicized. On Wednesday, Cotabato
City Mayor Japal Guiani Jr. criticized President Benigno Aquino III for
allegedly not bringing relief goods to the affected residents and providing a
quick solution to the water hyacinth problem.

On Thursday, Malacanang defended Aquino and called Guiani a liar, accusing
the mayor of politicizing relief efforts. Department of Social Welfare and
Development Corazon Soliman also lashed out at Guiani, saying the LGU has its
own calamity fund and the national government is only supposed to augment relief
goods when necessary.

Kabalu and Cabrera both said that the issue isn’t political, but
environmental. For the problem to be solved, it needs cooperation from all
stakeholders especially the communities and LGUs in Cotabato City and nearby
areas, according to them.

“I think, hindi tamang magsisihan [it’s not right to blame each other]. Let’s
face the problem squarely. Alisin agad ang water hyacinths [Pluck out the water
hyacinths immediately]. Somebody from the Department of Public Works and
Highways should also be stationed in the area for regular monitoring of the
problems there,” said Kabalu.

Cabrera, meanwhile, said that the people shouldn’t regard Aquino as “a
superman ready to solve all their problems.”

“They should learn how to protect their own environment…Bakuran nila ‘yon,
sila ang unang dapat maglinis [It’s their backyard, they should be the first
ones cleaning it],” said Cabrera.

In fact, according to Cabrera, the water hyacinth disaster could be turned
into a blessing for Cotabato residents. “Pwedeng pagkakakitaan ang water
hyacinths [They can earn from water hyacinths.] These could be used for
craft-making, or as organic fertilizer or animal feeds for farms.”

THE MINDANAO RIVER From WIKIPEDIA

The
Mindanao River, also known as the Rio Grande de Mindanao, is the second largest
river system in the Philippines, after the Cagayan River of Luzon[1]. It is also
the largest river on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao having a
drainage area of 23,169 square kilometers, draining majority of the central and
eastern portion of the island. It is also the second longest river in the
country with a length of approximately 373 km (231.8 miles)[2]. It is an
important transportation artery on the island, used mainly in transporting
agricultural products and, formerly, timber.

Its headwaters are in the mountains of Impasug-ong, Bukidnon, south of
Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental, where it is called the Pulangi River. Joining
the Kabacan River, it becomes the Mindanao River. Flowing out of the mountains,
it forms the center of a broad, fertile plain in the south-central portion of
the island. Before its mouth in the Moro Gulf, it splits into two parallel
sections, the Cotabato and Tamentaka, separated by a 180 m (600 ft) hill.

Population centers along the river include Cotabato City, Datu Piang, and
Midsayap.

Course

The Mindanao River has its source in the Central Mindanao Highlands near the
northern coast of the island, specifically on the northeastern part of the
province of Bukidnon, where it is known as the Pulangi River. It then flows
southward across the Bukidnon Plateau, fed up by its tributaries along the way
and then emerges onto the Cotabato plains, depositing fertile mountain silt as
it widens and arcs westward through the 1,000-square-mile (2,600 km2) Cotabato
River Basin. It finally empties into Illana Bay at its mouth in Cotabato City.

Details of the delta of the Mindanao River [edit] Tributaries Pulangi River
Buluan River Allah River Libungan River

River Delta

As the Mindanao River meets Illana Bay, it branches out into two
distributaries, the Cotabato in the north and the Tamontaka in the south at
Cotabato City.